1898] 



NOTES AND COMMENTS 369 



is a matter of too rinicli practical importance to be left to mere 

 guesswork. As Mohn lias well said: ' Neither argument nor esti- 

 mate, but carefully worked-out computations alone, can lead to a 

 lasting result,' " 



The Protection of Birds 



Following on the action of tlie Massachusetts' State Legislature, 

 noticed in our last number, the United States Senate has passed 

 a bill for the protection of song-birds, providing that the importa- 

 tion into the United States of birds, feathers, or parts of birds, for 

 ornamental purposes be prohibited, and prohibiting the transporta- 

 tion or sale of such articles in any territory of the United States or 

 in the district of Columbia. Considering tliat the American lady 

 can no longer bring in cheap sealskins or wear a matinie hat, this 

 last blow will probably have the effect of seriously decreasing the 

 female population of the United States. 



At a recent meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences Mr 

 W. T. Hornaday related the results he had obtained in reply to 

 questions circulated by him in all parts of the United States with 

 reference to the destruction of bird life. It appears that the most 

 destructive agencies are sportsmen, plume-hunters, boys after eggs, 

 pot-hunters, fire, and English sparrows ; and through these it has 

 been estimated that there has been a decrease of 46 per cent, during 

 the last fifteen years. It is shown that game and edible birds are 

 becoming scarce, and that song-birds are being used for food in their 

 stead ; that plume-birds are becoming extinct, and that destructive 

 agencies are increasing. Mr Hornaday concluded with an appeal 

 for more drastic measures in the game-laws, and for their careful 

 enforcement. 



Turning to our own country, we note that the indefatigable 

 Secretary of the Society for the Protection of Birds has induced a 

 score or so of prominent ornithologists to pen a series of brief but 

 practical pamphlets intended for the man on the street, who has 

 seldom much anxiety to preserve wild birds from the hand of the 

 destroyer. The names of such accomplished naturalists as Messrs 

 0. V. Aplin, H. E. Dresser, J. A. Harvie Brown, Howard Saunders, 

 and T. Southwell are a sufficient guarantee that the majority of these 

 papers are first-rate. They are published at the office of Knoivledge, 

 326 High Holborn, London, W.C, and we wish all success to their 

 circulation. 



Desirous of bearing our part in the crusade against the 'Arrietts 

 of 'igh-life, we hope to publish before long an article on " Milliners' 

 Birds," written by a well-known ornithologist. This will afford 

 some guidance to those who have sympathy but lack knowledge. 



